The present invention generally relates to a method and a system for optimizing hospital beds and ambulance allocations via a computer network. More specifically, the present invention generally relates to a method and a system for determining the status of beds in hospitals via a computer network. Further, the present invention relates to a method and a system for determining the status of the beds in a rooms, such as, for example, emergency rooms of the hospitals. The system and the method may alert ambulance services of the status of the beds and/or the status of the rooms in the hospitals via the computer network. The ambulance services may transport and/or may deliver a patient to one of the hospitals based on the status of the beds and/or the status of the rooms in the hospital. Still further, the hospitals may update the computer network to reflect the current status of the beds and/or the rooms in the hospitals. Moreover, the ambulances may update the computer network to inform others as to the hospital receiving the patent.
It is, of course, generally known to provide databases having information thereon. The information may be stored within the database for accessing the information at a later time. Further, it is generally known to provide access to databases on a computer network, such as, for example, the internet. A website may be utilized to simultaneously provide access to the database for adding information to the database and for retrieving information from the database.
Known methods of moving patients to beds in medical health facilities generally involve the placing of a telephone call or sending a telefax to a medical health facility to determine if a bed or a plurality of beds is available for one or more patients. Further, known methods involve asking a plurality of questions to a representative of the medical health facility to determine types of beds available, types of services offered, payment method accepted and/or other information. These questions must be asked at each facility contacted to determine which facility best suits the patient. Moreover, many times, discharge personnel, doctors and/or nurses must contact the medical health care facilities to gather the information about each facility. This may require discharge personnel, doctors and/or nurses to spend more time performing an administrative task and less time providing care and support to patients and family members often regarding difficult and serious life and/or other health-related decisions.
Further, it is generally known to provide a website having access to a database wherein the database denotes whether beds are available at a healthcare facility. However, known websites and databases do not provide a mechanism for a user to directly contact the healthcare facilities to make appointments, to reserve a bed or beds and/or to gather further information about the facility.
Further, known databases and websites provide no information on the types of beds available, the quantity of beds available and/or a forecast of what beds may be available and when beds may be available in the future. Moreover, known databases and websites do not provide healthcare facilities access to the databases for adding or changing information regarding bed availability.
It is generally known that an ambulance transports an injured patient from, for example, an accident scene or an emergency scene to an emergency room of a hospital for medical treatment. Often, the ambulance at the accident scene or the emergency scene do not know the status of the emergency room of the hospital. Further, the emergency room of the hospital may no longer be accepting new patients and/or a waiting time to the emergency room may jeopardize the health of the injured patient. As a result, the ambulance must transport the injured patient from the hospital to another hospital for medical treatment.
Generally, transporting the injured patient from the hospital to another hospital for medical treatment is known as diverting or bypassing the injured patient to another hospital. If the status of an emergency room of the hospital is unknown, an ambulance with an injured patient may arrive at a full emergency. As a result, the ambulance and/or the injured patient may be diverted or bypassed to another hospital. The diverting or the bypassing of the patient to another hospital for medical treatment causes a delay in time before the injured patient receives medical treatment from a hospital or emergency room. The delay in time increases the risk of death and/or serious injury to the patient. Further, the diverting or the bypassing of the patient increases the amount of work and/or costs associated with transporting of the patient by the ambulance to deliver the patient to a hospital for medical treatment. Further, the increased amount of work by the ambulance reduces the ability of the ambulance to provide services to other injured patients. As a result, the injured patients and/or other injured patients may not receive, timely, necessary medical treatment.
A need, therefore, exists for an improved method and a system for optimizing hospital beds and ambulance allocations via a computer network. Further, a need, exists for an improved method and a system for determining the status of beds in hospitals via a computer network. Still further, a need exists for an improved method and a system for determining the status of the beds in a rooms, such as, for example, an emergency rooms of the hospitals. Moreover, a need exists for an improved method and a system for alert ambulance services of the status of the beds and/or the status of the rooms in the hospitals via the computer network.